A Data Warehouse is defined as a collection of data in support of the management decision making processes.
Note: Although SQL Database technology has increasingly offered improved
performance, throughput and scalability, Data Warehouse systems have sought
higher BI performance gains through the use of Online Analytical Processing
(OLAP) technologies which periodically, even frequently, extract data from
operational databases into the Data Warehouse where it is stored, scrubbed and
consolidated in both detail and summarized forms -- forming hierarchical data
cubes of multi-dimensions and multiple measures for responsive analysis and
presentation.
Many products support OLAP, including Microsoft Analysis
Services 2000 and beyond.
A Data Warehouse solution can ensure the availability of consistent and cleansed information that can hold both detailed and aggregated (i.e., summarized) data at designated levels to facilitate planning and to make everyday decisions for the smooth functioning of an enterprise.